SPACECRAFT AND HEAVY STACK AS THEY PREPARED FOR FLIGHT TEST

FROM:  NASA SPACE

With access doors at Space Launch Complex 37 opened on Nov. 24, 2014, the Orion spacecraft and Delta IV Heavy stack is visible in its entirety inside the Mobile Service Tower where the vehicle is undergoing launch preparations. Orion will make its first flight test on Dec. 4 with a morning launch atop the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. Orion’s crew module is underneath the Launch Abort System and nose fairing, both of which will jettison about six minutes, 20 seconds after launch. The tower will be rolled away from the rocket and spacecraft 8 hours, 15 minutes before launch to allow the rocket to be fueled and for other launch operations to proceed. The spacecraft will orbit the Earth twice, including one loop that will reach 3,600 miles above Earth. No one will be aboard Orion for this flight test, but the spacecraft is being designed and built to carry astronauts on exploration missions into deep space. Launch is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:05 a.m. EST, the opening of a 2 hour, 39-minute window for the day. Image Credit-NASA-Kim Shiflett.

TEACHING A SPACESHIP HOW TO FLY

FROM:  NASA
A test model of the Orion spacecraft with its parachutes was tested the skies high above the U.S. Army’s Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz. on Feb. 29, 2012. This particular drop test examined the wake -- or the disturbance of the air flow behind Orion -- that is caused by the spacecraft. The U.S. Space Launch System, or SLS, will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond Earth orbit and the Orion capsule is a major part of this program. The Orion spacecraft will replace the space shuttle as NASA's vehicle for human space exploration and is designed to accommodate four to six astronauts traveling into space. It also will supplement commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station. Designed to be flexible for crew or cargo missions, SLS will continue America's journey of discovery from the unique vantage point of space. Image Credit: NASA

NASA TESTS ORION PARACHUTES

The following excerpt is from the NASA website:

“NASA CONTINUES ORION PARACHUTE TESTING FOR ORBITAL TEST FLIGHT
HOUSTON --
On Feb. 29, NASA successfully conducted another drop test
of the Orion crew vehicle's entry, descent and landing parachutes
high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the vehicle's
orbital flight test in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into
space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain
the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing.

An Air Force C-17 plane dropped a test version of Orion from an
altitude of 25,000 feet above the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Grounds in
Arizona. Orion's drogue chutes were deployed between 15,000 and
20,000 feet, followed by the pilot parachutes, which deployed the
main landing parachutes. Orion landed on the desert floor at a speed
of almost 17 mph, well below the maximum designed touchdown speed of
the spacecraft.

The test examined how Orion's wake, the disturbance of the air flow
behind the vehicle, would affect the performance of the parachute
system. Parachutes perform optimally in smooth air that allows proper
lift. A wake of choppy air can reduce parachute inflation. The test
was the first to create a wake mimicking the full-size Orion vehicle
and complete system.

Since 2007, the Orion program has conducted a vigorous parachute air
and ground test program and provided the chutes for NASA’s successful
pad abort test in 2010. All of the tests build an understanding of
the chutes’ technical performance for eventual human-rated
Certification.”

THE ORION SPACE VEHICLE

01/24/2012 12:00 AM EST

The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), or Orion, being assembled and tested at Lockheed Martin's Vertical Testing Facility in Colorado. Drawing from more than 50 years of spaceflight research and development, Orion is designed to meet the evolving needs of our nation's space program for decades to come. As the flagship of our nation's next-generation space fleet, Orion will push the envelope of human spaceflight far beyond low Earth orbit. Orion may resemble its Apollo-era predecessors, but its technology and capability are light years apart. Orion features dozens of technology advancements and innovations that have been incorporated into the spacecraft's subsystem and component design. A test version of the Orion spacecraft makes a stop at the Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City today, giving residents the chance to see a full scale test version of the vehicle that will take humans into deep space. Image Credit: Lockheed Martin

The above excerpt and picture are from the NASA website:

ORION SPACECRAFT TO GO ON TOUR

The above picture and following excerpt is from the NASA website:

NASA'S ORION SPACECRAFT TO LAND IN OKLAHOMA, TEXAS AND ALABAMA

W”ASHINGTON -- A test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft soon will make
a cross-country journey, giving residents in three states the chance
to see a full scale test version of the vehicle that will take humans
into deep space.

The crew module will make stops during a trip from the White Sands
Missile Range in New Mexico to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The planned stops include Jan. 23-25 at Science Museum Oklahoma in
Oklahoma City; Jan. 27-29 at Victory Park and the American Airlines
Center in Dallas; and, Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at the U.S. Space and Rocket
Center in Huntsville, Ala. Engineers, program officials, astronauts
and NASA spokespeople will be available to speak with the media and
the public.

The full-scale test vehicle was used by ground crews in advance of the
launch abort system flight test that took place in New Mexico in
2010.

Media interested in seeing the spacecraft or scheduling interviews
should contact Dan Huot at daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov or by calling the
newsroom at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111.

Orion will serve as the vehicle that takes astronauts beyond low-Earth
orbit. The first orbital flight test is scheduled for 2014.”